Topuria dismisses Pimblett as 'predictable' and open to TUF coaching rivalry after Gaethje loss

Ilia Topuria has turned his attention to Paddy Pimblett after losing the UFC lightweight title to Justin Gaethje in their unification bout at UFC White House, dismissing the Liverpudlian as a predictable, limited fighter and signalling he is open to coaching against him on the next season of The Ultimate Fighter.

The rivalry between Topuria and Pimblett stretches back years, but it gained sharper edges when Pimblett entered the cage after Topuria’s lightweight title win to demand a fight. That showdown never came — Topuria stepped away for personal reasons, and Pimblett subsequently lost an interim lightweight title fight to Gaethje in January. Now, with both men on the outside of the title picture, the path to settling their feud looks clearer than ever.

“Paddy, Paddy, Paddy… I’ll eat him up like the sausage he is!” Topuria told ABC.es. “There are no easy opponents. Paddy’s a guy to be reckoned with, but come on, with that head of his, you just aim the punch that way and hit him.”

On the subject of The Ultimate Fighter, Topuria acknowledged hearing rumours but confirmed no formal conversations with the UFC have taken place. “I don’t know what their interests are,” he said. “When we resume talks with them, we’ll see if we’re on the same page. There are still good times ahead, but what matters most to me is getting back to training, feeling healthy and well, and then we’ll be ready for whatever comes up.”

Pimblett has also publicly pushed for the TUF pairing, claiming the two could “bring the ratings back” to the programme and predicting he would outperform Topuria both on the show and in the cage. Topuria was unimpressed.

“If you listen to him, he’ll say, ‘He beats me at everything,’ but I beat him at anything I want,” Topuria said. “Paddy, on the ground, just grappling, doesn’t win a single point against me. He doesn’t take me down, he doesn’t pass my guard, he doesn’t do anything. He’s a pushover, he’s got a sausage body, he thinks his size gives him an advantage, but he can’t do anything.”

Topuria drew a sharp contrast between Pimblett and the man who just dethroned him. “He’s not like Justin. Justin is a dog; he knows how to dodge punches, he’s very experienced, and he’s very freestyle. He does things that, to me, are poorly executed, but they’re effective. Paddy has nothing — no knockout punch, no unexpected takedowns, no submissions out of nowhere. Paddy is very predictable; you can see his intentions.”

Looking further ahead, Topuria suggested that an emphatic win over Pimblett could revive the prospect of a welterweight title fight with Islam Makhachev — a bout that had been discussed before Gaethje’s upset derailed those plans.